I virtually stopped reading the forums. With all the trolls running around with impunity and the mods doing essentially nothing about it I get too stressed. Not worth the stress and frustration. All I use CB for any more is this thread and new articles from the CB staff.

So I've been thinking about timing of the AT&T Launch. Although probably [timing] decided by AT&T, this delay was a good thing for Blackberry.

This is like a soft re-launch of Blackberry to the US Market.

Passport with 10.3.1
Classic with 10.3.1
Amazon App Store
Carrier support for these new devices / these devices are available carrier subsidized.
Enterprises are upgrading / BES12 is out
Gartner is no longer telling enterprise to find an alternate to BES because of the company financials.

10.3.1 is solid, looks great (love the flat design), cool little feature additions, fixes some issues that were in 10.3 (Passport). This is a mature OS. And the best communications OS for Business folks. If people learn to sideload SNAP then it becomes an awesome device. I've found any apps that load and indicate require Google Play Services, just click 'ok' and it doesn't crash/close. So...for me....not much lost vs apps on native Android. Except the google docs, drive, etc. suite of apps.

Over the past few months there is much less "blackberry is dead", although we won't know how the US retail stores reps will treat those walk-ins off the street. I think there would have to be top down communication that blackberry is not dead, they just launched Passport, Classic, and there is another device coming by June. They are not going bankrupt. Hopefully reps don't deter those who want these new devices. Hopefully word of mouth among the Reps themselves about how good these devices are will slowly turn the tide of ignorance.

I will end with this. Yesterday was a very happy day. First, the 10.3.1 upgrade. And then...to my surprise as I didn't expect this to be fixed...the biggest 10.3 bug that was fixed for me is I can now bluetooth stream my Android apps (Deezer) to my 2015 C Class. On Passport 10.3.0 I could only stream tracks from the native music app - of which I don't have any because I only stream music subscription tracks. Now I don't need to manually set up the 2nd bluetooth connection for Audio from my old Galaxy S3. I'l take the loss of Flash for that 100x over.

So Passport 10.3.1 feels like the Passport 2 to me...like a new phone.

So I've been thinking about timing of the AT&T Launch. Although probably [timing] decided by AT&T, this delay was a good thing for Blackberry.

This is like a soft re-launch of Blackberry to the US Market.

Passport with 10.3.1
Classic with 10.3.1
Amazon App Store
Carrier support for these new devices / these devices are available carrier subsidized.
Enterprises are upgrading / BES12 is out
Gartner is no longer telling enterprise to find an alternate to BES because of the company financials.

10.3.1 is solid, looks great (love the flat design), cool little feature additions, fixes some issues that were in 10.3 (Passport). This is a mature OS. And the best communications OS for Business folks. If people learn to sideload SNAP then it becomes an awesome device. I've found any apps that load and indicate require Google Play Services, just click 'ok' and it doesn't crash/close. So...for me....not much lost vs apps on native Android. Except the google docs, drive, etc. suite of apps.

Over the past few months there is much less "blackberry is dead", although we won't know how the US retail stores reps will treat those walk-ins off the street. I think there would have to be top down communication that blackberry is not dead, they just launched Passport, Classic, and there is another device coming by June. They are not going bankrupt. Hopefully reps don't deter those who want these new devices. Hopefully word of mouth among the Reps themselves about how good these devices are will slowly turn the tide of ignorance.

I will end with this. Yesterday was a very happy day. First, the 10.3.1 upgrade. And then...to my surprise as I didn't expect this to be fixed...the biggest 10.3 bug that was fixed for me is I can now bluetooth stream my Android apps (Deezer) to my 2015 C Class. On Passport 10.3.0 I could only stream tracks from the native music app - of which I don't have any because I only stream music subscription tracks. Now I don't need to manually set up the 2nd bluetooth connection for Audio from my old Galaxy S3. I'l take the loss of Flash for that 100x over.

So Passport 10.3.1 feels like the Passport 2 to me...like a new phone.

You might want to try the MS Office for android on your PassPort. Looks like it works for me.

So, got the passport and Q10 updated and am very pleased with both of them and their performance.

I also dropped by Best Buy and the local AT&T store to see what they have setup for BlackBerry. I was disappointed in both stores. Granted, here in Colorado Springs the trend is Samsung and it was so obvious. Best Buy had no Blackberry's and only a few Apple products. Only saw two iphones, so no love for Apple either. The AT&T store had no displays but did have both the Classic and Passport along side other devices. Again only a few Apple products there but huge options for Samsung products.

So, got the passport and Q10 updated and am very pleased with both of them and their performance.

I also dropped by Best Buy and the local AT&T store to see what they have setup for BlackBerry. I was disappointed in both stores. Granted, here in Colorado Springs the trend is Samsung and it was so obvious. Best Buy had no Blackberry's and only a few Apple products. Only saw two iphones, so no love for Apple either. The AT&T store had no displays but did have both the Classic and Passport along side other devices. Again only a few Apple products there but huge options for Samsung products.

Of 52 AT&T stores in the 90210 area, Beverly Hills, only one store of 52 has a Passport available.

Of 54 AT&T stores in the 10007 area, Manhattan, only 5 stores of 53 have a Passport available.

The key is knowing how many they started with. If 51/52 and 48/53 didn't receive ANY units that is bad. If they all received units but sold out that's good. So the numbers you provide, while interesting, are not informative without more info.

Well said. From my perspective I am most interested in what US purchasers have had to say about their Classic or Passport experience as it will gage whether Blackberry has a successful product out there for American consumers... and if early feedback is any indication, the feedback has been for the most part very good!! OS 10.3.1, with a few gliches, is fresh and exciting and users are loving it...

BlackBerry is no doubt gaging the early feedback, and also the Carrier feedback, responding, and slowly they will ramp up ...according to their plan... imo

Verizon launch awaits this week!

I like the way CEO chen is handling this all important launch into the USA....